In Rissho Kosei-kai, what we call a “role” is extremely important. You’ll often hear phrases like “That person is someone who has a role,” or “There is a role for you to play!”
This word “role” refers not only to official positions in the sangha, such as chapter leader and area leader, but the fact that every member has a vital role, which is to say that they have a calling. This should naturally become clear when we reflect on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra to which we devote ourselves.
First and foremost, in the “Skillful Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, it says that the Buddha appeared in this world for the “One Great Cause.” This “One Great Cause” is the grand aspiration to lead all people to embark upon the Buddha Way and guide them to attain a state equal to that of a buddha. As members of Rissho Kosei-kai, all of you are already actively engaged in the “One Great Cause,” so when it comes to the role you share—as children and emissaries of the Buddha—I think it is to lead every single person possible to embark on the Buddha Way.
In addition to this primary role, there are many other roles within the Dharma center. The importance of these can easily be understood when you reflect on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. To summarize the main points of the Lotus Sutra’s teachings, they are as follows:
- Everything that exists in the world is given the gift of life and sustained by the Eternal Original Buddha.
- Therefore, all beings are essentially equal, and though they phenomenally manifest in myriad different roles, they all become buddhas by fulfilling their roles to the fullest.
- This world is a community of all living beings, and the true way of life for all is to cooperate with one another. The ideal society (the “Land of Eternal Tranquil Light”) is the complete realization of that cooperation.
If you reexamine these three points, you’ll come to understand the importance of every kind of role.
Bodai no me o okosashimu [Germinating the Seeds of Awakening] (Kosei Publishing, 2018), pp. 48–50
Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, was born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in 1906. A longtime advocate of cooperation and dialogue between the world’s religious faiths, Rev. Niwano promoted interreligious understanding as honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan), honorary president of Religions for Peace, and in various other capacities. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra, and spirituality, such as Buddhism for Today, Lifetime Beginner, Buddhism for Everyday Life, and more. Rev. Niwano passed away in 1999 at the age of 92.
